Five months passed between the submission of a request for exploration in the southern Peloponnese by Chevron and the Greek government’s approval of the American hydrocarbon giant’s request—coinciding with Donald Trump’s inauguration at the White House.

At least, this is what emerges from the invitation for the international tender on hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, signed yesterday by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, just days after his meeting in Cairo with Clay Neff, President of Chevron’s International Exploration and Production division. The signing also comes just a few days before the upcoming meeting in the U.S. between Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and his American counterpart, Marco Rubio.

The same document also reveals that Chevron had purchased an analysis from the Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management Company, which included data from 20 drilling operations in the southern Ionian Sea, for €35,000 last year.

The tender announcement states that the exploration phase will last for seven years, with an option for an extension. Once a hydrocarbon deposit is confirmed, the exploitation period will last for 25 years, with a possible five-year extension, divided into two phases.

The tender is expected to be published in the Government Gazette any day now—potentially even tomorrow. It will then be posted in the European Union’s official journal for a period of three months to attract investment interest in two offshore blocks south of the Peloponnese: one sought by Chevron and another (A2) requested by Helleniq Energy, though interest from other international investors is not ruled out.

In practice, the tender process has been underway since January 22, when the Greek government, through the Ministry of Environment and Energy, approved the requests of the two operators and signed the decision defining the boundaries of the offshore areas to be granted for exploration and exploitation rights.

The offer evaluation process will last two months, as will the lease agreement that follows. The concession will be subject to a special income tax of 20% and a regional tax of 5%. Additionally, the lease payment will be based on gross revenues, with a minimum threshold of 4% on the produced hydrocarbons.

The government’s goal remains to complete the tender process by the end of the year. Commenting on the call for interest yesterday, Minister Theodoros Skylakakis stated that the tender demonstrates Greece’s growing appeal as a destination for significant energy investments. He emphasized that this is an important step toward the country’s energy security, reinforcing efforts to explore the existence of major natural gas reserves, which serve as a transitional fuel for the energy transition.